Toothbrush container

ABSTRACT

A plastic container for storing and carrying a toothbrush has a body portion with an aperture in one end thereof through which the toothbrush handle extends so that the brush portion is retained within the body portion. A hinged lid integrally formed with the body portion closes the open top or end of the body portion by latching so as to retain the brush within the container. Drain and drying holes are formed in either the body portion or the lid or both.

United States Patent [1 1 Bridges l TOOTHBRUSH CONTAINER [76] Inventor:Roy G. Bridges, 641 S. Fourth Ave.,

Los Angeles, Calif. 91746 22 Filed: Sept. 10, 1971 21 Appl. No.: 179,324

[52] US. Cl. 206/l5.l E, 220/31 S [51] Int. Cl A45d 44/18, B65d 43/16[58] Field of Search 206/151 E, 15.3; 220/31 S [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 2,655,968 10/1953 Simmons .1 206/151 E 3,063,54911/1962 Weichselbaum. 220/31 S 1,115,061 10/1914 Foster 206/l5.l E1,651,496 12/1927 Weinberg. 2061/15.] E 4/1964 Scott 206/151 E 113,746,162 51 July 17,1973

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 207,032 11/1923 Great Britain 206/1561 E1,110,599 10/1955 France 206/151 E Primary ExaminerWilliam T. Dixon, Jr.Attorney-Robert R. Thornton [57] ABSTRACT A plastic container forstoring and carrying a toothbrush has a body portion with an aperture inone end thereof through which the toothbrush handle extends so that thebrush portion is retained within the body portion. A hinged lidintegrally formed with the body portion closes the open top or end ofthe body portion by latching so as to retain the brush within thecontainer. Drain and drying holes are formed in either the body portionor the lid or both.

4 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures- Patented July 17, 1973 3,746,162

2 Sheets-Sheet, 1

Patented July 17, 1973 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 7.45 60 i6 if 7 TOOTHBRUSHCONTAINER DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG.1, a toothbrush container This invention pertains to a container havinga 5 according to the present invention has a body portion hinged lid forstoring and carrying a toothbrush.

2. Description of the Prior Art Various devices have been utilizedheretofore to store and carry toothbrushes. Such devices haveconventionally enclosed the entire toothbrush, including the handle, soas to be unnecessarily bulky. Furthermore, such devices have notgenerally provided for drainage and evaporation of water which may beretained in the brush portion of the toothbrush. Even after extendedstorage, a brush so stored is often damp, inducing mildew in thecontainer. In addition, such devices have generally failed to have apositive locking means to hold the container together, so that often thecontainer has come apart, when packed in luggage during travelling, sothat the brush itself has become soiled or surrounding items wetted.Such devices have generally been made of rigid plastic materials, andhave been comparatively expensive and subject to breakage.

SUMMARY According to the present invention, a container for a toothbrushhas a generally hollow plastic body portion of with either an open topor end. Drain and drying apertures are formed in either the body or lidor both so as to permit moisture in the brush to drain and evaporatetherethrough. An aperture is formed in one end of the body and has aconfiguration such that the toothbrush handle extends therethrough whilethe brush itself is retained, by the remainder of said end, within thebody portion. A lid is connected by a hinge to the body portion so as toclose the open top or end. Fastener means are provided to hold the lidover the top of the body when a toothbrush is disposed in the container.Either the cross-sectional configuration of the body portion or theconfiguration of the end aperture prevents substantial rotation of thetoothbrush with respect to the container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Referring now to the drawing:

FIG. I is a view illustrating a toothbrush container according to thepresent invention with a toothbrush disposed therein for storage ortravelling;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the toothbrush container of FIG. I with its lidportion opened so as to show the interior of its body portion;

FIG. 3 is a view, in section, taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. I but withthe toothbrush removed for purposes of illustration;

FIG. 4 is a view, in section, taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. I.

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating an alternate embodiment of toothbrushcontainer according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a view, in section, of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a view of the toothbrush container of FIG. 5 showing theopened lid; and

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating another alternate embodi-' ment oftoothbrush container according to the present invention.

12 and a lid 14. A toothbrush handle 16 extends from an end 18 of thebody portion 12 through an aperture 20 formed therein. The lid 14 has alatch 22 formed at one side thereof. Adjacent the latch 22 is a lug 24,formed on the body portion 12. On a side 26 of the body portion 12,adjacent the latch 22, a second lug 28 is formed.

As seen in FIG. 2, the body portion 12 has a side 30 opposite the side26 and a second end 32 opposite the end 18. Integrally formed to theside 32 is a tab 34 having an aperture 36 therein. The aperture 36 isadapted to engage with a hook or the like in' order to hold thetoothbrush container in a vertical position for storage if desired. Thesecond side-30 has a hinge 38 connected thereto and to the lid 14.

The body portion l2 has a bottom 40, in which apertures 42 are formed tofacilitate draining and evaporation of any moisture which may becontained therein. The side 26 has a lip 44 which is adapted to engagethe latch 22, as is seen more clearly in FIG. 3. The lid 14 hasstiffeners 46, 48,v 50 formed thereon in order to provide additionalrigidity for the lid. Preferrably, the lid 14', hinge 38 and bodyportion 12 are integrally formed as a single unit by being moldedsimultaneously, as by injection molding. The container 10 is formed of asemi-rigid plastic material, such as polypropolene or polyethylene, andthe aperture 20, as well as a series of apertures 42, located in thebottom 40, are formed in the molding process.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the latch 22 and lip 44, which comprise afastener means for latching the lid 14 to the body portion 12, are shownin section. Also shown in section is the hinge 38. As will be apparentfrom FIG. 3, the hinge 38 is a single piece of flexible plastic so as topermit the lid 14 to be moved from a first position, in which the lid islatched to the body portion as is shown in FIG. 3, to a second positionin which the lid is remote from the body portion so as to open the topthereof, as is shown in FIG. 2. In FIG. 3, the toothbrush itself hasbeen deleted for purposes of illustration. However, the brush is shownin FIG. 4, which is a side elevation, in section, of the toothbrushcontainer 10. As is seen in FIG. 4, the toothbrush has a brush portion52 which is held within the container 10 by means of the end 18 havingthe aperture 20 formed therein, through which the handle 16 extends. Aswill be apparent from the relative size of the brush portion 52 and thecontainer 10, the brush portion is held upright within the container.The apertures 42 formed in the bottom 40 communicate with a solid handleextension 52A of the brush portion 52, rather than opening directly ontobrush bristles 52B themselves. Thus, the bristles are further protectedfrom soilage or contamination by dirt and the like, since the handleextention portion provides a baffle effect.

As will be apparent from the various figures, the container 10 is of agenerally rectangular parallelopiped configuration having an open top,which is selectively closed and opened by the lid 14. Closure of the lid14 is maintained by the fastener means. The lugs 24, 28, disposed one toeach side of the fastener means, and attached one on the lid and theother to the body portion, provide a structure for assisting the openingand closing of the lid. Thus, if torsional pressure is applied to thelugs 24, 28, as, for example, by pressing ones thumb on one and onesforefinger on the other, in a clockwise direction, the lid will beforced from the body portion by overcoming the latching effect of thefastener means. Conversely, in fastening the lid to the body portion,the lugs 24, 28 provide assistance if torsional pressure in the oppositedirection is applied thereto by the thumb and forefinger.

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown an alternate embodiment oftoothbrush container. In FIG. 5, a toothbrush container 60 is ofgenerally rectangular cross sectional configuration, having a side 62, atop 64, a closed end 66, and a lid 68 enclosing an open end of thecontainer 60. Te closed end 66 has an aperture 70 formed therein,through which the handle 16 of the toothbrush extends. The lid 68 has atab 72, which is utilized to open the container.

FIG. 6 is a view, in section, of the container 60 of FIG. 5. In additionto the ends, side and top, described with respect to FIG. 5, thecontainer has a bottom 74 and a side 76 shown in FIG. 6. The top 64 hasa latching recess 78 which engages a lip 80 extending inwardly from thelid 68. The lid 68 has a pair of drain apertures 82, 84 formed therein,so that moisture may drain and evaporate from the container 60. The lid68 is attached to the bottom 74 by a hinge 84, which is similar inconstruction to the hinge 38 shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the container 60 in its opened position,illustrating that the lid 68 moves outwardly and downwardly from the top64 upon opening, in order to permit the toothbrush to be removed throughthe open end of the container 60 formerly closedby the lid 68. Theoperation by which the container 60 is opened from the position shown inFIGS. and 6 to the position shown in FIG. 7 will be apparent from thedrawings, the tab 72 performing the same function in this embodiment asdid the lugs 24, 28 in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 4. If desired,a pair of tabs may be utilized in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5through 7, in the same manner as the pair of lugs 24, 28 in theembodiment of FIGS. 1 through 4.

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating another alternate embodiment of toothbrushcontainer according to the invention. In FIG. 8, a toothbrush container90 is generally cylindrical, having a closed end 92 within which anaperture 94 is formed so as to permit the egress of a toothbrush handle(not shown). Opposite the closed end 92 is a lid 96 which closes anotherwise open end of the container 90. The lid is held in its closedposition by means of a lip and latch structure (not shown) similar tothose heretofore shown. The lid 96 has a tab 98 which facilitatesopening and closing of the container in the same manner as has beenheretofore described with respect to the tab 72. In the embodiment ofFIG. 8, a pair of lugs may be substituted for the tab 98 if desired. Thecontainer 90 has a generally cylindrical body portion 100 within which aseries of apertures 102 are formed. If desired, a. plurality of lines ofapertures may be formed in the cylindrical body portion 100. The lid 96is attached to the body portion 100 by a hinge (not shown) of the samegeneral structure as that shown with respect to the embodiments of FIGS.1 through 7.

In a toothbrush container, it is desirable for the toothbrush to berestrained with respect to rotational motion within the container. Inthe embodiments of FIGS. 1 through 7, this restriction is obtainedprincipally by the rectangular cross sectional configuration of thecontainer. However, FIG. 8 has acircular cross sectional configuration,so that rotation of the toothbrush within the container is preventedby-the shape of the aperture 94 in the closed end 92. Tus, the' apertureis shaped generally to closely enclose the toothbrush handie, so as toprevent rotation. Similarly, the apertures 20, 70, in the embodiments ofFIGS. lg'through 4, and 5 through 7, respectively, may be selected as tosize in order to provide for such close enclosure, thereby furtherrestricting the rotational freedom of the toothbrush within containersof rectangular cross sectional configuration.

The invention claimed is:

l. A container for a toothbrush having a brush portion and a handleportion comprising:

a hollow plastic body of generally rectangular parallelepipedconfiguration having its bottom and sides and ends closed, and having atop which is open;

an aperture formed in one of said closed ends of said body adjacent thebottom and of a configuration such as to prevent substantial rotation ofthe brush with respect to the body and to permit the handle of thetoothbrush to be passed therethrough while the remainder of said endengages the brush portion of the toothbrush to hold the brushportionwithin the body;

a lid of a configuration such as to enclose the open hinge meansconnecting the lid, at one side thereof, to the body so that the lid ismovable between a first position in which the lid closes the open top asecond position in which the lid is swung away from the open top so asto permit the brush portion of the toothbrush and the handle portion ofthe toothbrush to be withdrawn therethrough;

fastener means on the lid and body opposite the hinge means and operablein conjunction with the hinge means when the lid is in its firstposition to hold the lid to the body portion; and

drain andd drying aperture means formed in at least one of said body andlid for permitting moisture within said body to drain and evaporatetherethrough.

2. A container according to claim 1, and in which the fastener meansincludes a cooperating latch and lip, one of which disposed on the lidand the other of which is disposed on the body, said latch and lip beingengageable when the lid is in its first position to hold the lid on thebody in conjunction with the hinge means.

3. A container according to claim 2, and including unlatching meanshaving a first integrally formed lug on the lid adjacent one side of thefastener means and a second integrally formed lug on the body adjacentthe otherside of the fastener means, said lugs being adapted

1. A container for a toothbrush having a brush portion and a handleportion comprising: a hollow plastic body of generally rectangularparallelepiped configuration having its botTom and sides and endsclosed, and having a top which is open; an aperture formed in one ofsaid closed ends of said body adjacent the bottom and of a configurationsuch as to prevent substantial rotation of the brush with respect to thebody and to permit the handle of the toothbrush to be passedtherethrough while the remainder of said end engages the brush portionof the toothbrush to hold the brush portion within the body; a lid of aconfiguration such as to enclose the open top; hinge means connectingthe lid, at one side thereof, to the body so that the lid is movablebetween a first position in which the lid closes the open top a secondposition in which the lid is swung away from the open top so as topermit the brush portion of the toothbrush and the handle portion of thetoothbrush to be withdrawn therethrough; fastener means on the lid andbody opposite the hinge means and operable in conjunction with the hingemeans when the lid is in its first position to hold the lid to the bodyportion; and drain andd drying aperture means formed in at least one ofsaid body and lid for permitting moisture within said body to drain andevaporate therethrough.
 2. A container according to claim 1, and inwhich the fastener means includes a cooperating latch and lip, one ofwhich disposed on the lid and the other of which is disposed on thebody, said latch and lip being engageable when the lid is in its firstposition to hold the lid on the body in conjunction with the hingemeans.
 3. A container according to claim 2, and including unlatchingmeans having a first integrally formed lug on the lid adjacent one sideof the fastener means and a second integrally formed lug on the bodyadjacent the otherside of the fastener means, said lugs being adaptedwhen relative torsional pressure is applied thereto in a first directionto unlatch said fastening means and when relative torsional pressure isapplied thereto in a direction opposite said first direction to assistin latching said fastening means.
 4. A container according to claim 3,and in which the drain and drying aperture means comprise longitudinallyaligned series of apertures in the bottom of the body.